Revision means throwing out the boring crap and making what’s left sound natural.

In one aspect, yes, I believe in ghosts, but we create them. We haunt ourselves.

The stars whirled above us and the firecrackers blazed. The moon stood watch as drops of blood fell, careless seeds that sizzled in the snow.

Here stands a girl clutching a knife. There is grease on the stove, blood in the air, and angry words piled in the corners. We are trained not to see it, not to see any of it. . . . Someone just ripped off my eyelids.

It had been a good day, all things considered. I had managed rather well on my own. I opened Grandfather's Bible. This is what it would be like when I had my own shop, or when I traveled abroad. I would always read before sleeping. One day, I'd be so rich I would have a library full of novel to choose from. But I would always end the evening with a Bible passage.

Life is for the living. Don't let the fear of striking out let you from keep you from playing the game.

I want to make a memorial for our turkey. Never has a bird been so tortured to provide such a lousy dinner.